The Love That Blinds Us
by Ecrivainn
Summary: Who is Naruto Uzumaki? That's what everyone asks yet no one has any answers. Flung into a different time and era Naruto must save the future from utter devastation. MinaNaru Warning. NOT Incest. Time Travel. Humor and Angst!
1. Enter: Naruto Uzumaki

**I** _ **do not own**_ **Naruto. This is a Mina/Naru story.** **NOT INCEST** **. You'll see why in future chapters.**

 _Hidden Leaf Village_

The sun was setting on a beautiful city known as the Hidden Leaf Village. It was near the end of the summer season as the heat had lowered with autumn approaching. A man with blonde spikey hair sat atop of the Hokage Monument where the previous and current Hokages faces were carved into the mountain side that overlooked the Leaf Village.

The man stared at the sunset then closed his bright blue eyes breathing in the sweet air. It smelled of nature: grass, pine, flowers, and overall fresh. A smile, a small one, crept on the tan face of the man as he began to get lost in the memories.

'The memories' he thought. He then cracked his eyes open to look down upon the Leaf Village; Once again seeing its beauty. People we walking through the streets with their family and friends, kids ran around at the park with no worry, and even ninja were relaxed but overall still on guard.

The man's eyes then transfixed themselves by a lake that was nearby. By this particular lake a woman had presented a ring to another woman that was right beside her. The latter then held her hands to mouth in shock then seconds later hugged the former with excitement and affection.

'It's not every day that you witness a proposal' thought the man as he smiled wider.

'I almost forgot why I came up here.' The spikey blonde hair man then brought his hand down to his pocket where a book was kept and brought it out followed by a pen.

Jumping the fence that was to prevent anyone from falling off the Hokage Monument the man sat down on one of the Hokages heads.

He flipped through the fresh pages that were blank without a spot of ink even on the hardcover of the book. _Click_ as the pen was then opened up and had found the tip on the cover of the book.

However, this pen didn't move an inch as it wavered but being dared to be moved to name a story that most wouldn't expect.

Deciding against his better judgement to give the book a title the blonde haired man then open to first blank page began to write.

 _Hidden Stone Village_

A man with a dragon mask ran quickly through the Stone Village maneuvering past people towards the Tsuchikages Office. The village's infrastructure was brilliant yet complicated as it was built from much of the surrounding rock and stone, shaped into tower-like structures that were inter-connected by a network of bridges. Getting lost was easy if you weren't paying attention to where you were going.

"Hey, watch it!" shouted a villager as the dragon masked man jumped over multiple citizens and onto the rooftop as he rushed towards his leaders office.

Quickly bursting through the buildings doors and rushing up the stairs to the Tsuchikages office he then knocked on the doors ever so politely.

A gruff and elderly voice then spoke "Come in" and doing as told the man walked in as professional as possible. The Tsuchikages office was the shape of hexagon with two shelves between a large window that overlooked the village. A couch was against the wall to the left with a coffee table in front of it. A desk made of dark oak wood sat in front of the large window with an old man reading a scroll with a face that was deep in concentration.

The Tsuchikage, Onoki, was a very short, old man with a triangular beard and a moustache that has angular corners, a big red nose and thick eyebrows. The top of his head was completely bald, although, he has long white hair on the lower-half of his head which was styled in a traditional chonmage haircut, the back of which was tied with a yellow ribbon into a topknot. He wore a green and yellow coat with a red collar. Underneath he also wore the traditional Iwagakure outfit consistent of a light green version of Iwagakure's flak jacket and mesh armor.

"What news do you bring, Naruto?" asked Onoki as he looked up putting the scroll down.

Taking off his mask the newly named Naruto began to speak, "More border crossings Lord Tsuchikage, the Leaf doesn't seem to understand our agreement upon keeping off one another's land. Tensions are high enough as it is."

Naruto Uzumaki, a man with mild blonde spikey hair and dazzling blue eyes, his face was sharp but still held some baby fat. There were three very faint lines across each cheek but couldn't be seen very well unless very close. He was adorned with one sleeved red outfit like standard Iwa ninja with black ninja pants with a pouch attached to the right leg as well as traditional open-toed black sandals.

"Is there any sight of _him_?" asked the third Tsuchikage folding his arms leaning backwards in his chair.

"There was no sight of him, I think they were just rumors" said Naruto looking into one of the most powerful ninjas eyes.

The old kage looked back at the scroll that had laid stretched across his desk and said "We cannot afford to go to war with the Leaf Village" Onoki then sighed "It is strictly one of things that will not only ruin us but the other major villages as well."

Naruto nodded as he could understand that not only would there be physical destruction but also depression, unstable economics, and ultimately the number of those who would perish.

"Naruto, I wouldn't ask you to do this if things were not in such high tensions with the Leaf Village, understand that this mission that will be given to you has no malicious intent and is only meant to better the ties between the Leaf and ourselves" explained Onoki with a solemn face.

"You, Naruto Uzumaki, are hereby assigned with Minato Namikaze of the Leaf Village to be sent to track and eliminate ex-ninja Gari" stated the Tsuchikage.

Naruto fidgeted slightly when hearing Minatos and Gari's name which was noticed by the Tsuchikage as he then signed once again and began to explain.

"You need to understand that the Hokage and I have come to this agreement because it appears that our villages will be at war in no time if nothing is changed. Eliminating Gari by Minato and yourself means we can come together and bring unity to our two villages" explained Onoki "Once the Stone hears that an enemy as great as Minato has helped us and vice versa for you and the Leaf… I think that it will be no better way to bring forward peace."

Naruto looked at the ground with annoyance then back at the Tsuchikage, "If this is your will… then it will be done…" Naruto then bowed.

"I shall give you a day's worth of rest before meeting him" said the older man as he turned away from the blonde looking out the window.

Surveying his beloved village he added "And please Naruto have faith."

But as Onoki turned around one of his most prized warriors was gone.

'I hope we have made the right choice Hiruzen' thought the Tsuchikage as he then began to get back to paper work.

 _Undisclosed Training Ground_

Naruto kicked a wooden cross made out of logs over and over at the training ground. 'Why me' thought the blonde as he struck the wood repeatedly in a swift kick to the neck region.

'You would think after everything I have done this would have never happened, being paired up with that man' Naruto thought as he then grits his teeth as he kicked the cross with such velocity and force that it shattered the head region.

Creating hand signs Naruto then turned around to another wooden cross "Wind Style Vacuum Sphere" then breathing in deep and feet planted firm he blew hard as a couple of small cylinders of wind were shot at the cross. The wooden cross then blew apart into chunks of wood as Naruto then walked towards another one.

"You would think that you would be resting on the day before your mission, Naruto" said a gruff voice of a young man. His name was Kitsuchi a very tall and brawny ninja. He had dark eyes and short dark-grey-coloured hair as well as a bulbous nose. He wore the standard Iwagakure ninja uniform with a left sleeve and a right lapel. He also wore the forehead protector of Iwa in a bandanna style.

"Yeah, well, might as well be these wooden logs than Minato himself" said Naruto as he stopped to look at the other man.

Kitsuchi then sighed and began to speak "Naruto, that mission, the day you- we met… him… we both made mistakes that day."

The Uzumaki stopped in his tracks as he himself remember what had happened that day.

 _Flashback_

 _A group of Stone ninja were running across a plain of grass coming home from a mission. They were battered and beaten but holding their stamina as they just finished the mission of killing bandits from terrorizing small towns._

 _The head of the group Naruto adorned with his dragon mask stopped abruptly holding up his hand effectively stopping the whole group. It was too… quiet._

 _A soft wind brushed across the plain then so very faintly a group of Leaf ninja then presented themselves as they rose from the field holding all types of weapons in defense position. In response the Stone ninja also drew out their weapons: swords, kunai, and shuriken._

 _The leader of the Leaf ninja was none other than Minato Namikaze and his face was cold and calculating planning multiple outcomes of the situation before him._

" _You have crossed the border, please go back to where you came from" he said standing tall pointing a kunai straight at Naruto._

 _Naruto said nothing at first then drew out a short sword in response and replied "We were hired for a mission in the Land of Lightning and we are returning home. We can no longer travel between lands without being attacked by multiple ninja"_

 _Minato eyes softened in the briefest moment but hardened as he couldn't risk a surprise attack. "Please, understand our situation" said Naruto as he noticed that some of his own men were shaking out of fear; some with injuries and others none._

" _We are low on food, water, and energy we are not prepared for another fight" he said. He then slowly moving into a defense position with his feet planted, knees bent, and his short sword in front of his chest._

" _As terrible as your situation is I cannot risk you attacking anyone or anything in the Land of Fire" Minato stated with a tinge of pity as he could see that the group of ninja from the Stone were in no shape for battle._

" _We will undoubtedly protect you from here until we reach the closest border but that's as far as I can assist you" Minato stated trying to come to a resolution but it was useless as the air was filled with tension between the two groups._

 _Naruto glared at the group of Leaf ninja through his mask._

" _I, Naruto Uzumaki, will not allow you to do this, we ask for safe passage but you instead offer protective custody to the closest land where they will pick us off one by one" Naruto said calmly putting his hand behind his back and flashing signs to his men on what their task is._

" _Captain…" said Kitsuchi quietly shocked in what the captain had told them to do._

" _You need to-" Minato began but was interrupted with smoke clouds billowing around the group of Stone ninja._

 _Just as quickly as the smoke erupted had the ninja then jumped out towards Minatos team with Naruto in the lead aiming his sword at the Namikaze._

 _The ninja of both villages began to fight hard but never aimed to kill as they tried to disarm each other._

Clang _went Narutos sword and Minatos kunai as they both forced their weapons against one another sparks flying._

" _I would've thought you would be more compassionate" growled Naruto as he then lifted his left leg with a quick strike to Minatos side sending him flying backwards across the field. In response Minato did a backwards somersault and landed on his feet with his kunai still raised._

" _You were the one who failed to negotiate, Naruto!" yelled Minato as he rushed forward and the two parried strikes as sparks flashed as their speed increased as well as their strength._

 _This time as their weapons clashed two hands erupted from the ground seizing Narutos legs and dragging them into the ground._

 _Only Narutos head remained above ground as Minato pointed his kunai at the formers head and said "Naruto, I place you and your men under protective custody until we reach the Land of Rice" said the Namikaze breathing a little heavier than normal as his clone then came up from underground and disappeared in smoke._

" _Did I actually make you tired?" teased Naruto as he melted into mud making Minato look around as his men were still battling the other ninja but it looked as if his own comrades were winning._

" _Never take your eyes off your opponent" said Naruto jumping out of the ground as he creating more mud clones._

" _Pretty skilled at clones" said Minato drawing another kunai "If I had not underestimated your abilities I'm sure I would have caught you quicker"_

" _Your mistake" said a voice behind Minato as a clone of Narutos then raised his short sword to attack. The Namikaze didn't flinch as he quickly dodged the blade slamming a ball of blue swirling chakra into the clone causing it to dispel immediately._

" _What attack is that?" asked Naruto curiously staring at the blue orb of spinning chakra._

" _What?" shouted a Leaf ninja catching both Narutos and Minatos attention as he had successfully overcome one of the Stone ninja but had strangely melted to mud._

 _Minato then looked around as his teammates then began experiencing the same situation as the Stone ninja all melted into mud, except Naruto._

" _Not just skilled but mastered" whispered Minato with his eyes narrowing in on Naruto Uzumaki who didn't seemed fazed by the outcome. If anything his demeaner looked overall exhausted._

' _Just who are you' the Namikaze thought. His attention was then drawn to where they had originally thrown down the smoke bombs to see overturned dirt._

" _Where have they gone?" asked Minato with complete astonishment. 'How could this have happened? For them to do something as simple as this' His attention was then drawn to Naruto as the Namikaze called for his men to come to his side._

 _Naruto then put his short sword back into its holster and withdrew two kunai falling back to the stance he was previously in._

" _I will give you one final chance, gather your men and come with us or face the consequences" stated Minato._

 _Naruto charged straight for them without even a flinch and Minato in response ran along with his men. This time it was Minato who jumped forward but his men remained on the ground._

' _Two assaults from the ground and air? Clever' thought Naruto as he then fully stopped throwing down his kunai and created hand seals. "Earth Style Tearing Earth Turning Palm" he said as he slammed his palm into the ground causing the earth before him to tear itself apart and attempt to swallow the Leaf ninja._

' _How has he lasted this long?' Minato thought as Naruto jumped backwards away from his attack._

 _The two stared at one another as the earth behind Minato continued to try and catch the leaf ninja. It was obvious Naruto was at his limit but he still didn't surrender. He then flick his wrist as another kunai appeared ready in hand. This time the blade looked coated in malicious red chakra amplifying the sharpness and length of the weapon._

 _They once again clashed as they both tried to gain the upper hand on one another with their weapons. Whatever Minato had attacked with was counteracted by Naruto so easily as if he already knew his fighting style._

 _Minato, enraged, shot his foot up kicking the kunai out of Narutos hand into the sky then with a triumphant look Minato kicked off with his left leg, spinning into the air and slamming his right foot into the side of Naruto head._

 _Naruto then flew a couple of yards as he laid there in shock. 'How could I let that happen' thought the Uzumaki as he felt the right side of his mask crack and shatter as Naruto was met with great blue sky and brilliant sun._

 _The Namikaze ran up to where Naruto laid staring at the sun utterly defeated and exhausted._

 _When Minato came up to the ninja he looked at the face that gave him so much grief in only a span of an hour._

" _Naruto Uzumaki" whispered Minato with his weapon drawn._

" _Do you feel honored yet?" said Naruto as blood dribbled out of his mouth "You're one of the few that have seen my face"_

" _No, but I do see honor and courage allowing your men to escape while you faced my own head on. In fact, do you even know-"_

 _Naruto interrupted "Minato Namikaze, I know your reputation, probably better that you do yourself."_

" _What do you mean?" asked Minato with his eyes focusing on the blonde._

" _Well since you've cracked my jaw, broke a couple of my ribs, caused my left arm to dislocate with just one kick. I don't really feel up to explaining myself. But know that you are a popular man, Minato" said the Uzumaki with a sigh followed by a heavy cough._

 _His comrades then caught up and stood behind Minato with weapons raised for safe measure._

" _Naruto Uzumaki you are under arrest for attacking ninja of the Leaf Village" said Minato with a triumphant smile. Naruto grinned and looked at Minato with a strange look as they both stared into each-other's eyes._

" _Who exactly are you?" said the Namikaze._

" _I'm Naruto, of course" said the blonde cheekily which made Minato a little irritated._

" _That's not what! You show up out of what appears to be nowhere just a year ago making a name for yourself for the Stone. There's been rarely any data on you. Home village unknown, age unknown, heritage unknown, and even height unknown" ranted Minato as the clouds covered the sun._

" _It's nice to know Minato Namikaze has been stalking me" Naruto replied as the rain began to drop from the sky. Naruto then didn't look natural as his face and body started melting "Looks like our time is up" he said with a smirk as he melted into the ground._

 _Minato stood wide eyed at where Naruto had been frowning deeply and began to walk away from the scene._

 _Flashback Over_

"What a jerk, I didn't break his bones or dislocate any of his appendages" said Naruto slightly pouting as he remembered how long it took him to heal from those injuries.

"Well, if he's a jerk then he's a powerful one" stated Kitsuchi with a grin that earned a glare from Naruto.

"Whatever, Kitsuchi, I could've beaten him with one armed behind my back if we didn't have to deal with all of those bandits it would've have been a completely different story" Naruto said frustrated with his friend.

"I would like to say that nothing was filed though, maybe you should give him a thank you" Kitsuchi added as he sat down on the ground as the blonde looked at him with confusion.

"Nothing was filed?" he asked ignoring the thank you portion.

"Nope not a single document of the incident was declared against our village or even you for that matter… maybe he's not the jerk after all"

Naruto then pouted once more as he infused chakra into his fist and struck the wooden post causing it to break apart "You would think that he would rat out our little excursion" said Naruto.

"He honored your sacrifice to let your team escape while you took on his whole squad all by yourself" replied Kitsuchi.

'Maybe you're not the man I thought you were, Minato' thought Naruto as he waved goodbye to Kitsuchi and grabbed his mask while going back to town to start packing.

 _Hidden Leaf Village_

"Yes, Lord Hokage, you summoned me?" asked Minato as he entered the office. He had jaw-length bangs framing either side of his face with unruly blonde spikey hair. His attire consisted of a standard Leaf Village uniform with two bands on both of his sleeves, a green flak jacket, blue forehead protector, and blue sandals.

"Ah, yes, please come in!" said Hiruzen with a smile. The Hokage was seated in his office with a scroll in his left hand and a stack of paper work to his right. "I'm glad you could come in quickly; I don't mean to cut into your break time."

"It's perfectly fine, how can I assist you, Lord Third?" asked Minato.

"I have a mission for you to partake in Minato. However, this one that can't be taken lightly" said Hiruzen looking towards the blonde with absolute seriousness.

Minato with a concerned look gazed at the Hokage and replied warily "Of course".

Hiruzen Sarutobi then sighed and began to explain, "It is time for both the Leaf and Stone villages to have complete and unbreakable peace, no more quarrels that lead us to undesirable conclusions. It is with great deliberation with the Tsuchikage that we come together to take care of a problem that benefits all of us."

"What would that be Lord Hokage?"

"You and a selected ninja from the Hidden Stone village will travel together and eliminate Gari from the Stone."

Minato's bright blue eyes widened with surprise "But Lord Hokage how can you be sure that the Stone will not try to betray us? How do you know that we will-"

Sarutobis hand went up to silence Minato and the Hokage then spoke "I understand everything that you are saying Minato but please have trust in me. Once you two have completed this mission it will be a new era of peace between our two villages."

Minato took a few moments to ponder on what the Hokage had said and then nodded as he understood.

"Thank you, Minato."

The blonde haired man replied generously to his superior and began to leave. Right as he was about to leave he asked "Who is my partner?"

"Naruto Uzumaki"

 _Ichiraku Ramen Shop_

Minato sat staring at his bowl of ramen with confusion and uncertain thoughts. 'Meeting up with him… you would think that I would be angry or frustrated to be partnered with Naruto'

A masked man came up the ramen stand and sat down next to Minato. He was adorned with a black cloak that covered his head along with black gloves and regular black ninja sandals.

"I heard you received a new mission, and it's supposed to last awhile" said the man with a mellow voice.

"I'm always up for a challenge, Bird" said Minato with a wry smile as he looked at the intricate detail of the mask that resembled his name. The blonde then picked up his chopsticks and began to eat his food that was getting cold.

"And what a challenge it is, working with Naruto from the Stone. Talk about being brave. That you and him would be the first two to try out this experimental mission"

Minato nodded to acknowledge what the man was saying as he ate but all the while thinking about Naruto and how he looked as he laid in the grass staring at the sky, and when he looked at the blonde and stared at those blue eyes, those deep blue eyes…

"-ato? Minato? Hello?" said the anbu as he waved his hands in front of Minatos face trying to get his attention.

Blinking rapidly and blushing the Namikaze stuttered to respond "Y-yes, sorry, got lost in thought" as the blonde then scratched the back of his head.

"Thinking about him, again?" asked the anbu.

Minato avoiding the question entirely. "It's strange don't you think, Naruto has blonde hair and blue eyes but with the last name of Uzumaki? I mean I spoke with Kushina about her heritage and she explicitly said that all of the Uzumaki had _red_ hair but his was blonde"

"It is curious if you think about it…" the anbu then thought about it a little more and added "And a Uzumaki in the Hidden Stone Village? Weren't they the ones who destroyed the Uzumakis home village? The Hidden Whirlpool?"

Minato then rubbed his temple with his fingers as it was so much to think about. "I would have to ask Kushina… actually when I told her about Naruto her reaction was beyond excitement to learn of another clan member."

"Honestly, Minato, I would be wary about your partner he does have a lot of rumors surrounding his character" said the anbu.

"Rumors?"

"Don't tell me that you haven't heard them?"

Minato thought about it and said "No, not a single one"

"A big rumor is that he went one on one with the Tsuchikage and lived"

Minato scoffed, and said "I doubt that Naruto had battled the Tsuchikage. He had barely survived a battle with me and I still beat him in the end."

"Oh, is that the story? I thought he escaped with a simple mud clone right from under your nose" the anbu said grinning behind his mask.

Minato blushed lightly with embarrassment "It's not like that. He's just really good at clones…"

Just then a hawk screeched from the air and Bird immediately stood up. "We'll have to talk more later, Minato, I have to report to the Hokage" said the man as he vanished with incredible speed.

Minato thought about the mission and how they would have to defeat Gari.

He then pulled out a black book known as the Bingo Book and flipped to the page that had the description of him. 'Explosion release?' thought Minato as he kept reading 'Adept in taijutsu as well as nature transformation… left the village a year ago after a battle with…' Minato inhaled sharply when he saw the name of Naruto Uzumaki printed clear as day.

Minato then paid for his food and left studying Gari and how they would defeat such a powerful opponent but the thought of Naruto and those blue eyes still lingered in his mind.

Just who was he?

 **Hi everyone,**

 **This is definitely experimental. Please tell me what you think! I'm not the best writer and am always looking to improve.**


	2. Miscellaneous Adventures

_Kannabi Bridge_

Naruto looked at the bridge he was standing on taking in every detail of it. He knelt down and felt the material beneath remembering the events that yet to occur. Pink hair, black cloak with red clouds, snake-like man, red chakra… possession. The blonde immediately stood up looking away from the bridge to the sky to see what time of day it was.

A voice behind him spoke, "It's like this is your first time seeing the bridge".

In reflex, Naruto drew out his short sword and pointed it at none other than Minato Namikaze.

"Not even 5 seconds and your already pointing weapons at my face," said Minato with a grin raising up his hands.

"Well… you usually say hello and not just sneaking up on people you know" scoffed the Uzumaki putting his short sword away. They both then began sizing each other up seeing if anything has changed since their previous battle.

Minato stared at the dragon mask that seemed fully repaired slightly disappointed that he couldn't see his face again. Immediately he blushed lightly. What was he thinking?

"Er… is there something on my mask?" asked Naruto removing it to inspect the outside.

"No! Not at all." He said laughing awkwardly.

"Let me introduce myself, my name is Minato Namikaze, I look forward to participating in this mission with you," he said as he stuck out his hand smiling.

Naruto was hesitant as he looked at the hand and back at Minato quizzically. After placing his mask back on, much to Minato's disappointment, he finally decided to grab his hand and shake it "Uzumaki, Naruto Uzumaki" he stated.

"So, let's get going then," said Minato quickly pulling his hand away as he started to move towards the east end of the bridge towards the Stone.

"Where are you going?" Naruto said tilting his head.

"Well I heard from a reliable source that Gari was last seen near the Hidden Stone Village"

"Why would Gari be near his home village? He would be found easily in a matter of time"

"It's actually very smart, it's like hiding in plain sight," said Minato frowning folding his arms.

"We're going to Land of Lightning," Naruto said walking towards the east.

"The Land of Lightning is the least of our worries, and there has been no sight of him from our spies"

Naruto spun around and narrowed his eyes at the other blonde and said "Well maybe your intel is off" he then folded his own arms daring the Namikaze to retort.

"Naruto, we need to work as a team," he said slightly annoyed as he gave Naruto a serious look.

The Uzumaki stared at Minato for a couple of seconds before sighing, "Look we received information from our own intel that he was last spotted ravaging a town in the Land of Lightning two days ago, and it's not a hundred percent accurate but it's the closest thing we have" he explained "I thought that we could give it a look and see if there are any witness available to talk to."

"My intel is a week old…" Minato muttered as he put his hand to his chin "How about we look around in the Land of Lightning and if we don't see any sign of him or leads then we'll come back near the Hidden Stone Village?"

Naruto's eyes glazed over for a second staring at Minato before he quickly blinked and nodded as Minato then started walking to the east alongside Naruto.

"Do think we should get to know each other?" asked Minato before they officially set off.

"Why would you want to do that?"

"It's been proven that teams who know their teammates work together in such a different dynamic than those who don't."

Naruto didn't respond as he looked forward as he then ran off jumping into the trees leaving Minato alone on the ground who silently joined him a moment later.

* * *

 _Few Hours Later_

Minato stopped on a tree branch abruptly and Naruto followed suit a few feet in front of the Namikaze. The latter looked at him with concern as Minato was staring out into the forest.

"What's wrong?" asked Naruto leaning against the tree.

"I thought I heard something," said Minato looking around a little bit more. He then jumped to Naruto's branch and the two left once again doubling their speed.

A figure then looked out from behind a tree, in the exact direction that Minato was looking in, before melting back into the ground.

 _Small Village in the Land of Fire (Below Land of Waterfalls)_

"Alright, it's time to call it for a night" Yawned Naruto as the sun was just setting over the horizon.

"Don't you think it's important that we move through the night?" asked Minato.

Naruto gave him a 'are you crazy' look "I understand your "Will of Fire" from the Leaf but let's face it I traveled from the Hidden Stone Village as you did from the Hidden Leaf Village. That's a lot of distance, plus the amount of traveling we just did. We deserve some rest." He then put his hands behind his head and walked off to look for a place to stay.

Minato then followed as he walked beside Naruto noticing the difference in height.

Naruto looked over to see Minato staring at him intensely "Okay, what is it?" he asked.

"What do you mean?" asked the Namikaze looking everywhere but at the now obviously shorter blonde.

"You keep staring at me for long periods of time… are you sure there's nothing on my mask?" he said slightly annoyed.

"No, it's just-"

"Just what?"

"I was just noticing your height for once," said an awkward Minato.

"Oh… why didn't you just say that?" said Naruto grumbling about Minato being 'weird' as he put his hands behind his head walking into the town.

They followed the dirt road towards the center of town but as they continued they noticed only a couple of people about but even they scurried inside their homes quickly at the sight of Minato and Naruto.

"What's going on…" Minato said as he looked around.

"You! How dare you, ninja, come back into our town!" shouted an old man as he quickly came up to the pair of blondes pointing a pitchfork at them.

Minato looked towards the old man with concern "What do you mean?"

Naruto whispered to the Namikaze "I say we leave… it's clear we're not wanted"

The former then looked at the Uzumaki in shock "We're ninja. It's our job to help them"

Naruto looked away from the blonde; obviously irritated.

The Namikaze gave his partner a look then walked forward to the old man frustrated in Narutos willingness to just abandon these people that looked worse for wear.

"Please, understand we only want to help you" pleaded Minato as he stopped in front of the man and calmly putting his hands up indicating he meant no harm.

The old man began to shake in fright "Ninja have been plaguing this town for a very long time… how can we trust you?"

"I am Minato Namikaze and this is Naruto Uzumaki," Minato said pointing at the blonde had crossed his arms "We… well, I want to help you, what ninja have been attacking you?"

"Wait you're thee Minato Namikaze?! Please come inside it's the least I can do for threatening you"

Minato nodded and followed the old man into his house that was nearby with Naruto who begrudgingly followed the other two.

They all sat at a shabby looking wooden table that had looked like it's been used far too much and that the structural integrity wouldn't last much longer either. It was uncomfortable and obviously tense for all three of them before the man went to the kitchen saying something about making tea for them.

As soon as he was out of hearing range Minato looked at his partner with irritation. "What's your problem Naruto?"

Naruto's eyes focused on Minato through his mask with aggravation "My problem? My problem is that we already have a mission to defeat and kill a very powerful missing ninja. I- We don't need to get caught up in these ridiculous miscellaneous adventures"

Minato just scoffed "How can you take pride in being a ninja if you won't even listen to a cry for help?"

"Who said I had any pride in being a ninja," Naruto said grumbling.

"Obviously, if you're here on this mission with me trying to bring peace between two villages then you have some pride" Minato whispering angrily making sure the old man didn't hear.

"I'm sorry that we all can't be as compassionate as the great Minato Namikaze can," said the Uzumaki with even heavier sarcasm getting irritated as the conversation continued.

"You're so infuriating," said Minato rubbing his temple in irritation.

Naruto scoffed and folded his arms looking straight ahead ignoring his partner as the two of them sat in uncomfortable silence until the old man returned with drinks.

Minato grabbed one but Naruto shook his head when offered a drink as the former spoiled his appetite.

"So what's been going on?" asked the Namikaze after taking a sip of tea.

"Well… how to start… a group of ninja wandered into our village informing us they would provide protection from the outside world" Minato nodded but Naruto stared blankly as the man then continued, "We first reacted with great joy and happiness of having protection, and not worry of threats against our lives. But as time progressed the ninja's intentions then appeared to alter."

The old man coughed into his arm and started talking once more, "They started taking our food rations, making us give them money for "tax" reasons, and they even recently started taking our people away if we give them resistance" he said with sheer sadness as he bowed his head shaking slightly.

"Have they… have they taken someone close to you?" Minato asked giving the man an empathetic look.

"Yes, my son was taken from me," said the old man clenching his hands tightly. "I couldn't save him. He was trying to stand up for the other people in this village when the ninja began asking for more money. But that was when they instead took him for compensation and said if anyone wishes to disrespect them they end up like my son."

"We will help," Minato said with a serious tone as he looked at Naruto who in turn was looking out the window. Even if the old man and Minato couldn't see it his eyes glazed over. 'That's been a very common trait with him so far' thought Minato as he then readjusted his focus on the old man.

"But we have no money… barely any food… are you-" the old man started saying but was interrupted by Naruto as he stood up and began walking for the door.

"Where are you going?" asked Minato.

"Need some air," said Naruto looking very uncomfortable. Minato gave his partner a quizzical look as did the old man.

Minato then looked at the old man and continued to discuss what had happened but that strange outburst from Naruto left him wondering if he truly just needed air.

* * *

 _Outside the House_

Naruto put his hand on the tree while he clutched his stomach as he felt a major pain. It was like a metal spike lit on fire had been shoved into his gut.

Naruto then bit his bottom lip as to not yell in pain as he then fell onto the ground with both arms around his stomach trying to somehow figure out a way to make this pain stop.

' **Let me go'** whispered a deep demonic voice inside Naruto's head. Darkness started to pull at Naruto's eyes.

'Shut up' thought Naruto closing his eyes trying to force the voice to go away with sheer willpower. The Uzumaki took a sharp intake of breath as the pain began hitch but then to ebbed away.

'I thought you were under control' thought Naruto as he picked himself off the wet earth and stood up straight breathing deeply. Just in time as Minato then exited the house not a moment later analyzing Naruto.

Minato just stared looking up and down at Naruto.

"What are you doing, checking me out?" asked the Uzumaki teasingly.

"N-no –Minato turned a bright shade of pink- I was just wondering why you have mud all of you and blood dripping from your mask," said Minato looking at the ground scratching the back of his head.

Naruto then touched his mask noticing blood and looked down at his muddy knees and arms.

"Oh…" he said as he crossed his arms thanking himself for wearing the mask that was hiding his slightly blushing cheeks.

Awkwardness filled the air until Minato coughed into his hand and explained where the ninja were and what plan of action they were going to take.

It was then that they began running two miles north of the village.

* * *

 _Outside of a Wooden House_

Two waterfall ninja laughed while drinking the sake from the village outside their house.

"They're so pitiful – causing the other ninja to laugh- I mean we've been taking supplies from them for so long, it's crazy how we've gotten such minimal resistance"

"Except from that one guy we had to kill' giggled the other waterfall ninja.

 _Snap_

One of the ninja turned around quickly and squinted her eyes looking out into the dark woods "Hey, did you hear that?" she asked in the open air as she then turned around to find the other ninja vanished.

Looking down the Waterfall ninja saw mud and a sake bottled stuck halfway into the ground.

"What the…" she began but then a hand came up from behind clasping her mouth shut and a cold piece of sharp metal was against her throat.

"I want you to listen carefully" Minato whispered into the Waterfall ninjas ear "I want you to tell me how many of you are here, if any of you have any special abilities, and where you keep your supplies… I'm going to remove my hand and if you dare say anything other than I requested your life will be over"

The Waterfall ninja, wide-eyed, nodded with a shudder and began to say where everything is and that no ninja inside had any special abilities but there was a total of six other ninja inside.

Minato then knocked the ninja out as Naruto rose from the mud next to him. "Are you serious? Knocking her out?" he whispered.

The Namikaze shrugged and then his whole body seemed to disappear as it sneaked inside the building.

Naruto rolled his eyes 'Not all of us can be that fancy' he thought as he removed his mask and changed his appearance to match the knocked out ninja and walked towards the house.

Naruto then walked through the door casually and was welcomed by the other ninja who were pigging out on the food from the village below.

The Uzumaki waved and laughed as he then sat down with four other ninja.

"So, what should we do tomorrow? Burn a house?" asked one of them causing the others to laugh as well with Naruto trying his best to act like them.

"No, you know what we should do is kill that old man like we did his son! Make another example if they try to rebel. They're all just peasants anyways" he said chugging down more sake.

"But I at least want a girl to have fun with," said another giggling.

"Make that two!" added another.

"We've been sent to "guard" these people but really they're just like slaves in all reality. Here to do our bidding" said one and the rest cheered.

"Hey… you okay Kiro?" asked one to Naruto's direction who didn't cheer with the rest of them.

"You people. Thinking you're gods, that you're better than an average person" whispered Naruto as he then slipped a kunai from his sleeve as his appearance immediately changed to his real one.

Some looked in shock as he quickly stabbed the ninja to his left in the throat.

The others, some drunk others not, quickly stood in an awkward fighting stance. "You people aren't even scum. You're worse than that" Naruto added as his anger seemed almost visible.

He took the table they were sitting at and threw it against the wall ultimately making the table fall apart. The blonde grabbed his short sword and pointed it at the ninja that began to encircle him.

Dropping to the floor Naruto then slashed at two of the ninjas' feet in front of him causing them to fall as they shouted in pain as the others stabbed downward at Naruto with kunai.

Naruto, without even flinching, sunk into the ground and reappeared behind the group.

'One dead, two incapacitated, four remaining' he thought quickly as he dodged a kick the face, punch to the abdomen, and kunai to the spine.

"They're pigs for slaughter! Why do you want to help them by killing us?" asked one woman as she stumbled to the left a little from drinking too much.

As quick as possible Naruto shoved the short sword into her chest with a sickening sound as his eyes they were no longer blue but blood red with his pupils turning into slits.

"You people are sickening" he hissed into the woman's ear tearing out his sword through the side of her chest. The other five were silent as they saw the blood red eyes that were calling, no demanding, for their own blood.

Flicking off the woman's blood Naruto then bent his legs and jumped slicing at another's throat as the others then backed up falling over the men who couldn't walk anymore and those were already dead.

There screams echoed through the forest audible to only Minato.

* * *

 _Outside the Wooden House_

Minato leaned against a tree as he saw Naruto walked out with his eyes closed but blood covering Naruto's clothing.

"What happened to stealthily dragging them into the earth?" Minato asked in curiosity as Naruto opened his blue eyes but they were filled with sadness.

"Did you fulfill your part of the mission?" asked Naruto ignoring Minato's question who in return nodded as they both walked off into the distance back towards the village.

"Listen Naruto, they were awful people and your actions were just," said the Namikaze supporting his partner who in return looked at him.

Naruto then looked forward as Minato then kept commending his choices and that he did nothing wrong. He then felt a strange feeling of support which he'd only received from some of his fellow stone ninja and the Tsuchikage.

"Minato," said Naruto interrupted the other blonde "Thank you." He then walked forward towards the village leaving Minato behind with a large smile on his face.

* * *

 _The Next Day_

The two walked silently out of the village after a good rest and food being given to them for their heroism for returning their money, food, and freedom.

Naruto then took of his mask randomly and looked at Minato "I'm nineteen years old, five feet and eight inches, heritage is unknown, and home village… unknown" said Naruto looking at Minato who looked back in confusion "You wanted to know something about me right?"

Minato then smiled widely at the other blonde who in returned was flushed with embarrassment.

"I'm twenty years old, five feet and ten inches, heritage unknown as well, and home village is the Leaf," he said happily putting both hands behind his head as Naruto smiled as well.

'That's a smile to remember' thought Minato as the both of them haven't gotten along until now, and then they walked together into the distance.

"How did you get to the Stone then?" asked Minato.

"Don't push it" said Naruto slightly teasing the other blonde.

* * *

 **Well what do you think of this chapter? I tried to put some fluff in there for you guys. If you guys enjoy this please favorite, follow, or even better post a review!**


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